San Antonio FC (13-7-9) finished Saturday’s match vs. FC Tulsa (12-12-4) at Toyota Field with a 1-1 draw after a second-half goal from Jose Gallegos earned the point for the home side.

“I am incredibly proud of the collective and their resilient behaviors,” said SAFC Head Coach Alen Marcina. “We’ve preached it all year and they continue to demonstrate it game after game. I thought from start to finish, we were the aggressors with and without the ball and we created more than enough opportunities to win the game. They scored a beautiful goal…but none the less we did more than enough to get the three points, but I’m proud of the group tonight.”

Despite another fast start for San Antonio, it was FC Tulsa that would open the scoring on the evening. A loose ball in midfield was picked up by Rodrigo da Costa and the veteran curled a left-footed shot into the upper corner past the diving Matthew Cardone to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. SAFC got back into the game quickly, going close a number of times in the first 45 minutes, however Tulsa would enter halftime with the valuable road lead.

After starting the second-half on the front foot, SAFC would find the equalizer in the 57th minute after Jose Gallegos curled a ball over the FC Tulsa keeper into the side netting. The goal was Gallegos’ sixth on the season and second in as many matches. The Alamo City club was the closest to finding the winner after shots from Nathan, Justin Dhillon, and Marcus Epps all almost found the back of the net. In the end, the final whistle blew and SAFC would share the points with their former Western Conference rivals.

Following tonight’s home match, SAFC will travel to New Mexico to face New Mexico United on Wednesday in the club’s final road match of the season. San Antonio will look to earn a playoff spot with a result on the road in midweek.

Scoring Summary:

TUL: 0-1, Rodrigo da Costa 27’

SAFC: 1-1, Jose Gallegos 57’

Disciplinary Summary:

SAFC: Yellow Card (Connor Maloney) 25’

TUL: Yellow Card (Kembo Kibato) 45’

TUL: Yellow Card (Marlon Santos) 59’

SAFC: Yellow Card (Alen Marcina) 66’

TUL: Yellow Card (Raphael Ayagwa) 87’

Attendance: 5,090

SAFC Starting XI: GK: Matthew Cardone; D: Jasser Khmiri, Mathieu Deplagne, Kortne Ford; M: Sam Gleadle (Chris Lema 83’), Mohammed Abu, Jose Gallegos, Connor Maloney (c) (Joaquin Varela 83’), Marcus Epps; F: Justin Dhillon, Nathan

Substitutions not used: Carlos Mercado, Axel Sjoberg, Roman Holt, Cam Lindley, Ollie Wright

Postgame Notes:

• SAFC tied FC Tulsa at home to take their record against the Eastern Conference in 2021 to 4-0-2 and to 4-0-3 all-time…SAFC now has a 6-3-5 record at Toyota Field this season
• SAFC midfielder Jose Gallegos scored his sixth goal of the season and his second in as many matches…the 20-year-old was named the SWBC Man of the Match after he added four shots and one key pass…his six goals continue to be a career-high for him in a single season
• SAFC midfielder Marcus Epps recorded five key passes on the night for the third time in 2021…ties his season-high for key passes, and his second straight game with five…Epps ranks second on the club with 46 key passes in 2021
• With the draw, SAFC is one step closer to clinching a playoff berth…a win in New Mexico on Wednesday would be enough to clinch the third playoff berth in club history